sourness

English

Etymology

From Middle English sowrenesse, sournesse, from Old English sūrnes (“sourness”), equivalent to sour ‎ -ness.

Noun

sourness (countable and uncountable, plural sournesses)

1. The condition or quality of being sour.
   • 1603–1604 (date written), [George Chapman], Bussy D’Ambois: A Tragedie: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for William Aspley, published 1607, →OCLC, Act I, page 1:

     [O]ur Tympanouſe ſtatiſts / (In their affected grauitie of voice, / Sovverneſſe of countenance, maners crueltie, / Authoritie, vvealth, and all the ſpavvne of Fortune) / Thinke they beare all the kingdomes vvorth before them; […]

   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 226:

     Mrs. Ferrars was a little, thin woman, upright, even to formality, in her figure, and serious, even to sourness, in her aspect.

Usage notes

Often used figuratively to refer to a person’s temperament.

Translations

condition or quality of being sour

• Catalan: agror (ca) f
• Dutch: zerpte f, zuurte (nl) f
• Finnish: happamuus (fi)
• Georgian: სიმჟავე (simžave)
• Greek: αγουράδα (el) f (agouráda), αγουρίλα (el) f (agouríla), ξινίλα (el) f (xiníla)

  Ancient: στρυφνότης f (struphnótēs)

• Ilocano: alsem
• Korean: 신맛 (ko) (sinmat), 산미 (sanmi)
• Latin: aciditas f, acor m
• Old English: sūrnes f
• Tagalog: asim (tl), kaasiman, pagkaasim

of a person’s temperament

• Greek: δυστροπία (el) f (dystropía), στρυφνότητα (el) f (stryfnótita)

Anagrams

• sunroses